THE LARRY LEROY GOLDEN ENDOWMENT
Collectively and individually, men initiated into the Zeta Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha continue to break barriers and raise standards on the campus of the University of Georgia, and in life beyond college days. Our documented legacy of “firsts” is undeniable and unmatched.
As the first organization organized by and for African American students Georgia’s flagship institution for higher learning. Zeta Pi is a success story borne from audacity, perseverance and excellence.
The Legacy Of Larry Leroy Golden
His Lasting Legacy At The University Of Georgia
There are far too many awards, student leaders, campus firsts, national honors and stories of everyday excellence to mention in this limited space, but the story of the Zeta Pi chapter is exemplified and amplified by Larry Leroy Golden.
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At the time of Larry's enrollment, racial integration at UGA was still in its infancy. African American students in the mid 1970's were the direct successors of alpha brother Hamilton Holmes, Sr. and Charlayne Hunter, who integrated the University of Georgia in 1964.
Brother Golden, a native of Savannah, Ga, majored in sociology at the University of Georgia. Larry was athletic and charismatic.
He was widely known as a leader, serving as the President of the Black Student Union, among many other activities and accolades.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Larry Golden chose—and was chosen by—the Zeta Pi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Larry and his eleven pledge brothers, known as the “Tenacious Twelve,” became Alpha men in the spring of 1976.
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​Tragically, less than two years later, a car accident resulted in undisclosed injuries, cutting Larry's promising life short, just a few weeks before he was to graduate in may of 1978. Larry’s death shocked the entire African American student population. A multitude of black and white students attended his memorial service, and the overflow in Memorial Hall was unprecedented.
Seeking to honor their fallen Alpha brother, the then ten-year-old Zeta Pi chapter worked hard to raise the initial $1,000 to establish the Larry Leroy Golden memorial scholarship:
“Under the leadership of brothers James Jackson and Tony Liggett, and with the addition of brothers Harold Fennel, Anthony Chappell, Earnest Stillwell , and Nathaniel Stevenson, the Zeta Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha saw one of its most profound dreams a realty; the establishment of the Larry Leroy Golden memorial scholarship fund.
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The fund is in memory of brother Larry Golden, who passed on to the Omega chapter on May 25, 1978. He had served the Zeta Pi chapter, University of Georgia, faithfully since 1976. The fund was established when the total amount reached one thousand dollars. The next goal is to have the fund perpetuated, which will come when the fund reaches five thousand dollars.”
-SPHINX MAGAZINE, SPRING 1979
​Over the next four decades, Zeta Pi alumni contributed to the fund. Brother Mark Bowling led the fundraising efforts for almost the entirety of the fund’s existence, keeping the importance of Larry's Legacy top of mind during every five-year reunion weekend.
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Through Brother Bowling’s constant and faithful stewardship of Larry's legacy, by 2017, the original corpus established in the UGA Bursar’s office reached $65,000. This principal amount generated funding for an annual scholarship award to deserving African American male students at UGA since the 1980s.
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Brother Bowling drove the scholarship efforts until his untimely passing in 2017, just two weeks before the Zeta Pi Alumni Association (ZPAA) established an additional account in the UGA foundation to receive Golden scholarship donations. The infrastructure of the UGA foundation offers convenient online and mobile giving options, to which Zeta Pi brothers responded resoundingly.
​From humble beginnings, the Larry Leroy Golden memorial scholarship now boasts over $150,000 in endowed principal, making it the first six-figure investment, funded entirely by the private philanthropy of African American UGA alumni. It is the first scholarship established by black students at UGA, and the first UGA scholarship named for a black alumnus (the university awarded Larry's degree posthumously). The men of Alpha Phi Alpha accomplished these milestones through personal generosity, without matching funds from the university.
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Generations of Zeta Pi brothers look back at the first 50 years of Alpha Phi Alpha on the campus of the University of Georgia with unmitigated pride. We look to the future with a solemn commitment to live up to the lofty standards set in 1906, by the seven jewels at Cornell University and in 1969, by the Seven Pearls at the University of Georgia.
The history of Alpha Phi Alpha—nationally and on the campus of UGA – is a story overflowing with shining exemplars of excellence like Larry Leroy Golden. The scholarship bearing his name has cultivated and encouraged African American male excellence at UGA for over forty years, and will continue to do so in perpetuity.
Larry Leroy Golden Memorial Scholarship
Winners Updated list
2019
Christopher Clements
Jaquarius Raglin
2020
Michael Bland, Jr.
William O’Bannon
Aaron Ogunlana
Obamide Samaye
2021
Joshua Dixon
Edward Porter
Wendall Stallings, Jr.
2022
Jordan Dozier
Jakhari Gordon
Robert Howard
2023
Andre Akinyemi
Myles Cutter
Justin Olawole
Grady Taylor III
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